RPT-GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia shares struggle; data shows tough going

                                
 (Repeats to wider coding. No changes to text)
                                
 * Stock markets struggle, Nikkei wavers
                                
 * Oil steady above $70 a barrel after 2 pct drop
                                
 * Dollar rises, capitalises on more sober mood
                                
 By Charlotte Cooper
                                
 TOKYO, July 1 (Reuters) - Asian stock markets struggled to
gain ground on Wednesday as economic data showed the process of
turnaround to recovery was likely to be a slow grind, and the
dollar capitalised on that more cautious sentiment.
                                
 Oil held above $70 a barrel after industry inventory data
showed a bigger-than-expected fall in crude stocks, which
helped pare some of the previous day's losses after data
unsettled investors about a potential U.S. economic rebound.
                                
 In Japan, business confidence pulled back from a record low
hit three months ago, but the improvement was smaller than
market players had expected and still a negative reading.
[ID:nT135345]
                                
 That followed an unexpectedly steep slide in U.S. consumer
confidence in June, which dented optimism on Wall Street about
prospects for recovery and weighed on shares in Asia.
                                
 Australia's benchmark index <.AXJO> got the new quarter off
to a weak start, falling 2 percent as growth-sensitive stocks
such as shopping mall owner Westfield Group <WDC.AX> lost
ground.
                                
 The broader MSCI index of Asia-Pacific shares excluding
Japan <.MIAPJ0000PUS> eased 0.4 percent, holding below June's
2009 peak, while Tokyo's Nikkei share average <.N225> was flat,
with Orix Corp <8591.T> and All Nippon Airways <9202.T> sliding
on news of possible public share offerings. [.T]
                                
 Japanese construction machinery makers such as Komatsu
<6301.T> edged higher on news that China's official purchasing
manager index (PMI) gained. [ID:nPEK138883]
                                
 But analysts noted big Japanese firms in the Bank of
Japan's tankan survey planned to cut capital spending, a key
driver of the economy, by 9.4 percent in the year to next
March, more than the market expected.
                                
 "Basically, the tankan showed that things aren't all that
good in the near term but seemed encouraging for the longer
term, making its overall impact neutral," said Kenichi Hirano,
operating officer at Tachibana Securities.
                                
 "I'd have liked to see slightly better capital spending,
but given the current situation it's only natural that it
should fall -- after all, with production down, the last thing
manufacturers can do right now is spend."
                                
 In Seoul, shares <.KS11> rose 0.8 percent helped by a
slower than expected fall in South Korean exports, while
component-maker LG Innotek <011070.KS> rallied on the first day
of trading after it completed a merger with LG Micron Ltd.
[ID:nSEO78659]
                                
 The U.S. Conference Board's index of consumer attitudes
fell in June to 49.3 from a downwardly revised 54.8 in May,
deflating stocks on the last day of the quarter.
                                
 The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> slipped 0.97
percent, the Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 0.85
percent and the Nasdaq <.IXIC> eased 0.49 percent.
                                
 Nevertheless, Wall Street still closed out its best quarter
in a decade, with the S&P 500 jumping 15.2 percent in the three
months to end-June, the blue-chip Dow advancing 11 percent and
the Nasdaq climbing by more than a fifth. [.N]
                                
 JOBS DATA IN FOCUS
                                
 Markets are likely to be subdued as they await key U.S.
jobs data on Thursday which help put another piece in the
puzzle about how fast the world's largest economy is mending.
                                
 The dollar index <.DXY> gained 0.2 percent as the greenback
took back lost ground from sterling and the yen.
                                
 The yen fell broadly as Japanese pension and mutual funds
picked up overseas assets at the start of the new quarter,
traders said, showing that investors are, however, still keen
to put their money back to work.
                                
 The dollar climbed 0.4 percent to 96.77 yen <JPY=>,
touching its highest in nearly two weeks, while the euro was
steady at $1.4020 <EUR=> and sterling fell 0.2 percent to
$1.6432 <GBP=> after surging to an 8-month high above $1.67 on
Tuesday.
                                
 Gold edged higher to $929.60 an ounce <XAU=>, taking a
breather after falling more than 1 percent the previous day
when a stronger dollar prompted broad-based selling across the
commodities sector.
                                
 U.S. crude futures stood at $70.59 a barrel <CLc1>, helped
by news from the American Petroleum Institute that domestic
crude stocks fell 6.8 million barrels to 349.7 million barrels
last week, against analysts' forecasts of a 2 million barrel
fall. [ID:nN30469016]